Terms & Conditions

By engaging Hetty Saunders (the “Editor”) to work with you (the “Client”) to assist with, edit or proofread your manuscript or writing project, you agree to the following terms and conditions:

1. SCOPE OF WORK.

1.1 The Editor will provide the appropriate level of editing as agreed upon, in writing, by the Client and the Editor.

1.2 The Client is under no obligation to offer the Editor work; neither is the Editor under any obligation to accept work offered by the Client.

1.3 The Client and Editor will agree (in writing) the medium in which work will be carried out (e.g. Microsoft Word) and how the material will be annotated (e.g. Track Changes).

1.4 If the Editor’s work is unsatisfactory to the Client, the Editor will rectify it in her own time and at her own expense.

1.5 The Editor will always aim for the highest editorial standards. There will always be, however, a degree of subjectivity with the editorial services provided and so, while the Editor may make suggestions, the Client has the final say in the decisions made about the work.

1.6 While the Editor will make every attempt to return an error-free document, she is unable to guarantee perfection. The Client is advised to read through the final version and check that they are happy with it before publishing.

1.7 The price does not include checking any changes implemented by the Client following the completed work. It does not include another full check of the whole manuscript. Any further large-scale changes or additional text will be charged at the same rate as the original job, unless otherwise agreed.

1.8 In addition, the Editor cannot guarantee acceptance of the manuscript by a publisher, nor publication itself, nor sales of the published work. The Editor cannot guarantee representation of the Client by a literary agent.

1.9 The Editor will attempt fact-checking for the manuscript where necessary and possible to do so, or will indicate for the Client where it might be required. However, the Client is ultimately responsible for the factual accuracy of their work.

2. SCHEDULE AND PAYMENT.

2.1 Unless working on an hourly basis, the Editor will begin work on an agreed start date and will continue until the work is completed. If employed by the Client on an hourly basis, the Editor will agree tasks and duration with the Client before commencement. This Contract can be ended by either Client or Editor at any time, pursuant to the terms of Section 6, Term and Termination.

2.2 Unless working on an hourly basis, the completed work will be delivered on or before an agreed date, for the agreed fee, which will be based on the description of the work required. A written quotation for the work will be provided by the Editor to the Client following the Editor’s evaluation of a representative sample of the materials to be edited. The evaluation will also take into account discussions with the Client as to what is required, the length of the work and the Editor’s estimated time taken to complete the project. 2.3 If, however, on receipt of the item to be worked on, or at an early stage, it becomes apparent that significantly more work is required than had been anticipated in the preliminary discussion or brief, the Editor may renegotiate the fee and/or the deadline, or decline to carry out the work.

2.4 If, during the term of the Editor’s work, additional tasks are requested by the Client, the Editor may renegotiate the fee and/or the deadline, or decline to carry out the work.

2.5 If the start date has to change because of a delay in the Client delivering the manuscript to the Editor, the Editor reserves the right to charge a ‘rush fee’ to meet the original deadline or to move the deadline. The Client should note that under these circumstances it may not always be possible to meet the original deadline.

2.6 The Client will reimburse the Editor for pre-agreed reasonable expenses over and above usual expenses incurred in the process of editorial work.

2.7 Unless being employed on an hourly or one-off basis, the Client will pay the Editor a non-refundable booking fee totalling either the full price of one session or 25% of the overall quoted fee (whichever is greater) before work begins. The booking fee will be deducted from the final invoice when the work is complete. The booking is confirmed once the booking fee, upfront hourly payment or one-off payment has been received by the Editor, which will secure the agreed slot in the Editor’s schedule. Payment of booking fees should be made within 7 days unless otherwise agreed.

2.8 The Editor will invoice the Client at the end of the project, unless the Editor is being employed on an hourly or one-off basis, in which case payment must be made upfront. Unless agreed otherwise at the outset, the Client agrees to pay the amount owed for editing services within 30 days of receiving the Editor’s invoice. Payment after that date will incur a late fee on the outstanding amount.

2.9 The Editor will contact the Client 14 days before the mutually agreed start date with a reminder that the file is due 24 hours before the stated start date. The Client will confirm, in writing, within 7 days of the reminder that they will supply the relevant files for editing by the deadline.

3. OWNERSHIP AND LICENCES.

3.1 All content delivered to the Editor by the Client for editing services is the copyright of the Client. The Editor may need to use the Client’s intellectual property to do her job. The Client agrees to let the Editor use the Client’s intellectual property and other intellectual property that the Client controls to the extent reasonably necessary to do the Editor’s job. Beyond that, the Client is not giving the Editor any intellectual property rights, unless specifically stated otherwise in this Contract or granted elsewhere in writing.

3.2 Following payment of the final invoice, any content created by the Editor as part of the editing process will become the copyright of the Client, unless otherwise agreed. Once the Editor gives the work product to the Client, the Editor does not have any rights to it, except those that the Client explicitly gives the Editor here. The Client gives permission to use the work product as part of portfolios, websites and in other media, so long as it is to showcase the work and not for any other purpose. The Client does not give permission to sell or otherwise use the work product to make money or for any other commercial use. The Client is not allowed to take back this licence, even after the Contract ends.

3.3 As part of this job, the Editor is creating the “work product” for the Client. To avoid confusion, the work product is the finished product, as well as drafts, notes, materials, mockups, hardware, designs, inventions, patents, code, and anything else that the Editor works on – that is, conceives, creates, designs, develops, invents, or works on – as part of this project, whether before the date of this Contract or after. The Editor hereby gives the Client this work product once the Client pays for it in full. This means the Editor is giving the Client all of its rights, titles, and interests in and to the work product (including intellectual property rights), and the Client will be the sole owner of it. The Client can use the work product however they want or they can decide not to use the work product at all. The Client, for example, can modify, destroy, or sell it, as they see fit.

4. SUBCONTRACTING.

4.1 All work will be carried out by the Editor. The Editor will not subcontract any work to third parties.

5. REPRESENTATIONS.

5.1 Each party promises to the other party that it has the authority to enter into this Contract and to perform all of its obligations under this Contract.

5.2 The Editor promises that it owns the work product, that the Editor is able to give the work product to the Client, and that no other party will claim that it owns the work product.

5.3 The Editor promises that the manner in which she does this job, its work product, and any background IP she uses comply with applicable UK and foreign laws and regulations.

5.4 The Editor promises that its work product does not and will not infringe on someone else’s intellectual property rights, that the Editor has the right to let the Client use the background IP, and that this Contract does not and will not violate any contract that the Editor has entered into or will enter into with someone else.

5.5 The Client promises to review the work product, to be reasonably available to the Editor if the Editor has questions regarding this project, and to provide timely feedback and decisions.

5.6 If the Client provides the Editor with material to incorporate into the work product, the Client promises that this material does not infringe on someone else’s intellectual property rights.

6. TERM AND TERMINATION.

6.1 This Contract is ongoing until the work is completed. Both the Client and the Editor have the right to terminate a contract for services at any time if there is a serious breach of its terms.

6.2 If the Client cancels or terminates a service at any time, for any reason, then they will provide the Editor with written notice as soon as possible. The cancellation will be considered valid when the Editor provides written acknowledgement of the cancellation.

6.3 If the Editor cancels or terminates a service at any time, for any reason, then they will provide the Client with written notice as soon as possible. In the unlikely event that the Editor cancels or terminates a service, she will provide a full refund of fees paid up to that point (including the booking fee).

6.4 If the Client experiences extraordinary or difficult circumstances (e.g. illness, bereavement, technical issues) which cause delays or cancellation of the project, the Client agrees to contact the Editor at the earliest opportunity to discuss the situation. The Editor will try her best to be fair, understanding and helpful at all times.

6.5 If the Editor experiences extraordinary or difficult circumstances (e.g. illness, bereavement, technical issues) which cause delays or cancellation of the project, the Editor agrees to contact the Client at the earliest opportunity. The Editor will do her best to help (e.g. renegotiate the project’s time frame) and the Client may be entitled to a full or partial refund.

6.6 If the Client cancels the work during the project, then the Editor reserves the right to invoice for 100% of the agreed fee (minus the booking fee).

6.7 If the Client wishes to cancel with less than one month’s notice, then the Editor reserves the right to invoice for 100% of the agreed fee (minus the booking fee).

6.8 If the Client wishes to cancel with more than one month’s notice, then the booking fee will not be refunded but no other charges will apply.

7. SOLE TRADER.

7.1 The Client is hiring the Editor as a self-employed sole trader. The following statements accurately reflect their relationship:

● The Editor will use her own equipment, tools, and material to do the work.

● The Client will not control how the job is performed on a day-to-day basis. Rather, the Editor is responsible for determining when, where, and how she will carry out the work.

● The Client will not provide the Editor with any training.

● The Client and the Editor do not have a partnership or employer-employee relationship.

● The Editor cannot enter into contracts, make promises, or act on behalf of the Client.

● The Editor is not entitled to the Client’s benefits or benefits granted to the Client’s employees.

● The Editor is responsible for her own income tax and National Insurance contributions.

● The Editor confirms she is not VAT-registered.

8. CONFIDENTIALITY.

8.1 The Editor agrees that the nature and content of the project with the Client will be kept confidential and not made known to anyone other than the Client without prior written permission. The Editor agrees to continue to follow these obligations, even after the Contract ends. The Editor's responsibilities only stop if the Editor can show any of the following: (i) that the information was already public when the Editor came across it; (ii) the information became public after the Editor came across it, but not because of anything the Editor did or didn’t do; (iii) the Editor already knew the information when the Editor came across it and the Editor didn’t have any obligation to keep it secret; (iv) a third party provided the Editor with the information without requiring that the Editor keep it a secret; or (v) the Editor created the information on her own, without using anything belonging to the Client.

8.2 It is possible the Client and the Editor each have access to confidential information that belongs to third parties. The Client and the Editor each promise that it will not share with the other party confidential information that belongs to third parties, unless it is allowed to do so. If the Client or the Editor is allowed to share confidential information with the other party and does so, the sharing party promises to tell the other party in writing of any special restrictions regarding that information.

8.3 The Editor will keep a backup copy of the Client’s work (unless asked otherwise), both original and edited, for at least six months securely in case of failure with the Client’s own system.

8.4 The Editor will not upload the Client’s files to external websites or distribute them to third parties unless authorised to do so, by the Client, in writing. The Editor does, however, use iCloud and Microsoft OneDrive as cloud-based storage systems.

8.5 The information that the Client and the Editor may keep on record is covered by the terms of the General Data Protection Regulation. No more such information will be held than is necessary, at any time, to comply with those terms and with any compliance statement or privacy policy published by the Client and/or the Editor. Either may view the other’s records to ensure that they are relevant, correct and up to date.

9. USE OF GENERATIVE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI) SOFTWARE

9.1 If generative AI (e.g. ChatGPT, Sudowrite, Claude 3 etc.) has been used, in whole or in part, to generate the Client's content then the Client will disclose this to the Editor. The Editor reserves the right to seek clarification on how, and to what extent, generative AI was used.

10. LIABILITIES.

10.1 Neither party is liable for breach-of-contract damages that the breaching party could not reasonably have foreseen when it entered this Contract.

10.2 The Client agrees to hold the Editor harmless from and against all claims, liabilities and expenses arising out of any potential or actual copyright or trademark misappropriation or infringement claimed against them.

10.3 While the Editor will endeavour to point out any potential legal issues, the Client is responsible for ensuring that the manuscript is appropriate for publication. The Editor can accept no liability for any action raised as a result of incorrect or defamatory material.

11. INDEMNITY.

11.1 In this Contract, the Client agrees to indemnify the Editor (and its affiliates and their directors, officers, employees, and agents) from and against liabilities, losses, damages, and expenses (including reasonable solicitors’ fees) related to a third-party claim or proceeding arising out of a breach by the Client of its obligations under this Contract.

12. GENERAL.

12.1 The Editor may use the Client’s name and link to the Client’s book’s sales page on the Editor’s website and social media. The Client must inform the Editor if the Client does not want the Editor to do this.

12.2 There is no requirement for the Client to mention the Editor in the published work’s acknowledgements section. However, the Client agrees that the Editor will have the opportunity to review any such mention prior to publication, or to decline to be mentioned.

12.3 The Editor may request a written testimonial from the Client regarding the quality of the Editor’s work to be used in the Editor’s promotional material. The Client can decline this.

12.4 To change anything in this Contract, the Client and the Editor must agree to that change in writing and sign a document showing their contract.

12.5 This agreement is subject to the laws of England and Wales, and both Editor and Client agree to submit to the jurisdiction of the English and Welsh courts.

12.6 By engaging the Editor, the Client acknowledges that they have read, understood and agreed to these terms and conditions.